Bill Dunow, who was born and raised in Monticello, flew his final flight with the United States Air Force prior to his retirement after 24 years of service to his country.

He is the son of Etta and the late Bill Dunow Jr. of Monticello. His dream, from the time he was in high school, was to have a career in the Air Force. He actually joined the Air Force Reserve while still in high school.

He started out in the Air Force as a maintenance crew chief on the C-5 Galaxy cargo jet. Longing to fly, Bill became a flight engineer on the C-141 Starlifter cargo jet. When that aircraft was retired from the Air Force fleet, he transitioned to the UH-1N (Huey) Helicopter. He has accumulated over 4,500 flight hours.

Bill saw much of the world during his career. He was stationed primarily at four U.S. bases: Altus AFB in Oklahoma; McGuire AFB in New Jersey; Andrews AFB in Washington D.C. and Kirtland AFB in Albuquerque.

In recent years, he has been a student flight engineer helicopter instructor and examiner. He received permission to fly to Monticello May 17 from Albuquerque on his last flight. He landed at the new Monticello Airport and was surprised to see many family members and local friends there to greet him.

Bill loves his country and its flag. He considers himself blessed to have been associated with the men and women of the United States Air Force. He says you will not find a finer group of people anywhere on earth, not a group who are as dedicated and loyal to America.

Bill and his wife, Jana who is an Air Force brat, are the parents of a daughter, Jessica, who is presently serving an LDS Mission in Florianopolis, Brazil and two young sons, Billy and Baden.

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